


Lending a Helping Hand

by CelesteFitzgerald



Category: PRISTIN (Band), SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Comedy, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:33:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26384938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelesteFitzgerald/pseuds/CelesteFitzgerald
Summary: Minghao doesn't want to do his chores. Luckily, his best friend Jieqiong finds a way to turn the work into play with the help of a couple candy bars.
Relationships: Xu Ming Hao | The8 & Zhou Jie Qiong | Kyulkyung
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	Lending a Helping Hand

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SevenCandlesticks](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SevenCandlesticks/gifts).



This day was going to be terrible.

That was all Minghao could think as he lay upside-down on the couch, his head dangling toward the floor. Maybe gravity would reverse if he hung there long enough. All the housework he’d been procrastinating on would be more fun if he did it while walking on the ceiling.

In a last-ditch effort to get out of the work, he shot Jieqiong a text. “ _Save me_.” He draped his arm above his head until the phone buzzed.

“ _Nah_.”

“ _Pleeeeeeease_ ,” he fired back, hoping the extra E’s would translate into the puppy-dog eyes he’d be giving Jieqiong if she could see his face.

“ _Save u from wut?_ ”

“ _Chores._ ”

“ _Fine. Be there in 10 to help_.”

Wait, really? Minghao didn’t expect her to actually agree to this. But sure enough, Jieqiong was pounding on his door ten minutes later. He groaned as he rolled off the couch and dizzily let her in.

“Alright, how many chores on the to-do list?” Jieqiong said, cracking her knuckles.

“…Are you sick or something?”

“What? _No_.”

“Then why are you excited about this?”

“Because,” Jieqiong said, unzipping her purse, “I’ve got prizes.” She threw a handful of candy bars onto the table.

Minghao almost questioned how prizes had anything to do with cleaning, but the chocolate looked too good to complain about. “And you’re okay with me eating your chocolate?”

“Hell no. I stole this from my roommate. You can eat as much of Kyla’s food as you want. Now, I’m guessing one of the things you need to get done is the dishes?” Jieqiong pointed at the sink where both basins were filled with dirty plates and cups.

“How could you tell?” Minghao snorted.

“Here’s what I’m thinking.” Jieqiong walked over to the left half of the sink and grabbed the red sponge. “I’ll take this half of the sink.” She threw the blue sponge to Minghao. “You get the other half. Whoever finishes first gets to pick their prize.”

“But there’s only one faucet.”

“Then you better not be afraid to get your hands dirty,” Jieqiong said, looking him dead in the eyes as she swiveled the spout to her side.

“Alright.” Minghao stepped up to the sink and readied his sponge. “You’re on.”

On the count of three, Minghao yanked the spout toward himself while Jieqiong blasted the hot water. And the battle was on. Jieqiong’s screams drowned out the rushing water, the spilled soap washed off the weird stain on Minghao’s sock, and somehow a fork flew through the air and wedged itself between the couch cushions. It came down to just one plate each, but in the end Jieqiong was triumphant.

“Yessss! I am the queen of the sink!”

“Oh, shut up,” Minghao grumbled as Jieqiong unwrapped a mouthwatering bar of chocolate. “Hurry up with that. It’s laundry folding time—and I’m _fast_ at laundry. You don’t stand a chance.”

“Is that so?” Jieqiong asked, mockingly waving her half-eaten prize as she spoke. “Then let’s add an extra level to that challenge.”

After dividing the laundry into two piles, they got to work seeing who could stack their folded laundry into the tallest tower—without knocking it over. True to his word, Minghao was fast. His stack quickly towered above Jieqiong’s, and she was not pleased. She glared at him and worked faster. Unfortunately for her, she also worked sloppier, and it was only a minute later when her stack toppled in defeat.

“That’s what you get when you doubt my skills,” Minghao said smugly, piling one more shirt on top before sauntering off to claim his prize.

“If you’re so proud of that, put it on your resumé,” Jieqiong yelled after him.

“Maybe I will!”

They spent the rest of the afternoon in increasingly absurd challenges. It left them exhausted, dusty, and smelling of soap, but the candy cured all of their woes. Finally, they collapsed on the couch, clinked their celebratory glasses of lemonade, and fired up Netflix.

“Freedom at last,” Jieqiong sighed.

“Thank goodness. And thanks for the help. Why did you do this, anyway?”

The corners of Jieqiong’s mouth twitched. “Oh, no reason.”

“…Oh no. What’s that look for?”

“Nothing.” Jieqiong sipped her drink and raised her eyebrows. “Oh—but before I forget, my cousin’s moving into a new flat next weekend, and we could reeeeally use some extra hands.”

Minghao stared at Jieqiong as her smirk grew. Eventually, he groaned and rolled his eyes. “Well played, missy.” He clinked their glasses again. “Well played.”

**Author's Note:**

> My half of a fic trade with a friend!


End file.
